people have loaded this article since 17 November 1997

I've selected five sites featuring free trials of exciting new technology that require a multimedia-capable computer. Five exciting, but less demanding sites follow. The URL, or address, needed to visit these sites appears in bold type. Just type the URL into your web browser and press . There's real excitement here, so hold on and here we go!

MultiMedia sites

Netscape 3.0 is a major change for viewing Web sites. This package has many plug-ins available, which make your web browser handle pictures, sound, music, telephone calls, 3D virtual realities (VRML), and video automatically. It also has javascript functionality for those using 32-bit technology. It requires a multimedia computer, but supports MAC, IBM, or UNIX. From here, you can see demos that show what it will do. This is free for educational use, and offers everyone a free trial. Read about it then click here to download it.


Shockwave is a multimedia plug-in for Netscape. It automatically works with Netscape when you load a page that has been shocked (designed using Shockwave authoring tools). It plays videos, has animations (figures and other things on the screen actually move, even after the page has been loaded), plays music and sounds, and generally takes advantage of multimedia tools. The download actually retrieves three program packages--Director, Authoring, and Shockwave player. It includes instructions both for playing pages developed by others and for shocking your own web page (making your own multimedia site). Click here to read what you need then download it.


CU-SeeMe is for live video conferencing. I remember visiting Disneyland in 1960 and being told about telephone calls where you would see the party at the other end of the phone connection while talking to them. Now, over 30 years later, it's reality. It works and it has a free trial. It allows private (and secure) person-to-person conferences or multi-person conferences. You can even broadcast to hundreds of CU-SeeMe users simultaneously. At present, it requires Windows and a 28.8k modem (14.4 is audio only), 8mb of RAM, a 50 mHz computer or faster, and a camera or video capture card (with minicam). If you don't have a videocam, you can still see others and use either microphone or keyboard to communicate (other people won't see you). Experience video conference calling by downloading the software ($99 after 30 day free trial) from White Pine Software.


Look@Me is available from Farallon Software. This software lets you view another Look@Me user's screen in real time. The other user may be anywhere in the world (or even out of the world, if they're on Internet). This allows Internet users to collaborate on documents as if in the same room even though thousands of miles apart (or across town). You can review presentations, explore the web together, or teach a distant student while seeing the same thing they see. This technology will likely be widely used by teachers and lecturers to share their knowledge/expertise without ever leaving home. Read more about it and get your free copy.


Winsock32 is exciting news for America OnLine (AOL) users. AOLers have put up with inability to use many Netscape features, including automatically printing URL addresses on printouts and using java, advanced tables, and forms in their web browser. This file enables AOLers to use the 32-bit version of Netscape while connected to AOL even though using a 16-bit winsock.dll file. Best of all, it's easy. You rename one file (or possibly two) you're currently using, download this file, double-click on the file in file manager, then move the two files it creates to the \Windows\System directory. You may need to move your winsock.dll file to another directory, but the instructions tell you clearly how to do it. The program is shareware ($20 after 30 day free trial).


Less demanding sites

Virtual Places is described as a portable chat that works anywhere on the web. That may be a good description, but you have to see it to understand. Virtual Places works with your web browser to connect to a specific computer, which teams you up with other web surfers. You select an avatar (a small image, usually a picture or drawing of a person or animal, but you can scan your own photo) to represent you. Your avatar appears on the screen (everyone's screen who is using Virtual Places and looking at the same web page). When you type in something, it appears in a balloon above your avatar, superimposed on the web page you're viewing. Someone suggests to fellow avatars visiting a particular web site. When you move to that web site, your avatar follows, as does everyone else who follows your suggestion. This is an excellent way to do your web surfing with a friend or relative, even if they are thousands of miles away. The opportunity for live interaction is enormous (how about meeting your penpal on the web and surfing together?). What is particularly astonishing is that this program installs in minutes and works instantly with no configuring or special tweaking required. I've never seen a program that was easier to install. Everyone should try this one--just download it free.

Mapquest is an interactive atlas on Internet. The atlas asks you to input a city, street, or zip code and mapquest displays a map of the area you requested. You can zoom in or out to view the immediate area, county, state, or country. The map is in color. If you zoom in all the way, you will see the names of streets, subdivisions, and major landmarks marked. It has listing categories, including restaurants, hotels, and even websites. If you click on websites (or one of the other categories), the map will display websites in that area (or whatever category you chose). You can add things that you know in your area. It's an excellent source for maps, but is weak outside the U.S. The site also offers trip routing and planning (Tripquest), and many other services.

Peanuts has always been one of my favorite comic strips and now it's available free on the web. View fourteen daily strips in black & white or the previous Sunday's strip in color. The website offers an archive, a history of the strip, its history, Charles Schultz' biography, and more. Bookmark this site and enjoy Peanuts on demand. United Media's site also has several other comic strips.


WhoWhere is a directory search service. It concentrates on email addresses and a directory of companies, but also includes yellow pages of businesses by category and a telephone number listing (incomplete). It displays a search form, which asks for name, company name, phone number, and/or domain. Domain is that part of the email address (or web site) that is unique (for example, the aros in aros.net or aol in @aol.com). I decided to search for people with "Alan" in their name and "byu" in their address to see if they had my business email address listed. It returned a long list of Alans--all at BYU (I was impressed). It's an excellent service for finding people when all you have is a name, partial email address, or some combination of incomplete information.


Online radio program is an interesting application of RealAudio technology (if you don't have RealAudio, this site will point you to where to get it). They've produced a radio talk show and put it on the net. The site has an archive of previous programs, which you can hear by clicking on the program of your choice. Or, look at their list of upcoming shows and connect at the right time to listen to the show live through your web browser. If you're ready for the next generation of talk shows (after radio and TV), click here.

The web began as pictures accompanying text, but technology is making the web a total experience with moving pictures, sight, sound, and even special effects. These Internet HotSpots will make your web browsing sit up and sing (literally, as well as figuratively). Don't be afraid to try them out. Just type the URL given in bold type into your web browser, and your web browsing will soon be more exciting than you dreamed possible.